For a brand that’s been increasingly inconsistent in the quality department the last couple of years, the Melted Latex line of lipsticks (or glosses or whatever they were supposed to be) was one of the biggest missteps: they were too thick and sticky, the application was super patchy (and got worse, the darker your shade was), and the most hyped shade in the collection – a liquid version of their cult favorite lipstick Unicorn Tears – was nowhere to be seen. When I asked a Sephora cast member about it, she said that Too Faced was “tweaking” the formula and it would be out soon. If memory and my Sephora order receipts are accurate, the Latex line came out in mid-August and Unicorn Tears was released at the end of September. All of the Sephora shelving had an empty spot for Unicorn Tears, so it seems as if they were planning for everything to launch together. It also wasn’t very long before the Melted latex lipsticks all went on clearance for $10, more than 50% off the retail price of $21, so I’m guessing that I wasn’t the only one who hated them. I’m also guessing this too Too Faced by surprise since one of Sephora’s “25 Delights” promotion was a deluxe mini of a Melted Latex shade; I’m not saying it’s never happened before, but this is certainly the first time I’ve seen Sephora have a promo sample for an item that’s been on clearance for more than a month…

Unicorn Tears is the only shade of Melted Latex left at regular price, and they might as well mark it down as well: it has the same awful texture as the other Melted Latex lipsticks and the color is just…off. Since I also have the Unicorn Tears lipstick, I decided to do a comparison:

The swatch on the left is the original tube lipstick: you can see that it is a bright purple/blue duochrome with a reddish violet base. The color is full and vibrant and you get some great coverage with it. The swatch on the right is the Melted Latex and it’s fairly sheer (despite all of the “objective reviews” claiming that it had amazing pigmentation!) and doesn’t have the same sort of holographic effect. It’s completely in the blue and purple realm and doesn’t have any of the violet to fully flesh out the color. It has some glitter in it, but the glitter doesn’t stand out enough to justify its reason for being there. This glossy topcoat is just a dud.

The packaging, as with most Too Faced products, is absolutely gorgeous – it’s too bad you can’t use the actual packaging on your face! If you want something shimmery and holographic and totally on the Unicorn trend, stick with the original lipstick. If you like a sticky gloss that doesn’t have enough color payoff and looks sort of gray and dingy, they go ahead and throw your $21 at Too Faced and let them keep putting out terrible products. I won’t stop you…

Not too long ago, Too Faced co-founder Jerrod Blandino made a catty stab at tarte’s Make Believe In Yourself collection by claiming that there aren’t unicorns in the Amazon (I talked about that pettiness HERE, if you want to refresh your memories!). As it turns out, unicorns are in short supply at the Too Faced headquarters as well. I think it’s time for Blandino to spend a little more time reining in the quality control at his company instead of policing who he thinks might be infringing on “his” territory. After all, no one is going to accuse another brand of copying you if you keep putting out junk makeup. Imitation of crap is NOT the sincerest form of flattery…

Now Go Forth & Get Painted!

(Our promo image, included above, was originally found HERE – check it out!)